1 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:12,320 Amen. What a blessing that was. 2 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:18,040 Isn't it cool to have to see the next generation rise up and be 3 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,360 bold and courageous and worshiping King Jesus and even 4 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,240 leading us the body of Christ. So kids, so proud of y'all. 5 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:27,960 Big thanks to Miss Teresa and Delhi K and Heidi and I'm sure 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,720 others that serve them in this way and ready them to lead us. 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,280 What a what a blessing church family, why don't we just go the 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,320 Lord in prayer before we open his word. 9 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,720 And if you would bow with me and let's pray together. 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,480 Heavenly Father, as we gather in your name to worship you. 11 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,120 Father, we praise you because we know you live. 12 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,200 Jesus, you are alive, you conquered death. 13 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,880 And Father, you've given us the hope of eternal life, life now 14 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,400 abundantly on this side of heaven, life with You forever. 15 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,880 When we take our last breath, Lord, we rejoice in the hope 16 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,920 that we have that cannot be taken from us. 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,520 We praise You, Father, for the greatest message that has 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,200 changed us, that we can impart to our children and their 19 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,760 children and their children, that our lives can be in Jesus. 20 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,800 Our lives can be redeemed, Father, our sin can be forgiven. 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,040 There's a God who reigns and who loves us and has a wonderful 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,560 plan for our lives. Father, I pray that we'd be 23 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,400 faithful to instill in the next generation that which you've 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,400 done in us so that you can do in them. 25 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,120 God, I pray, Lord, that you would meet with us in a special 26 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,480 way today. Bless the preaching of Your 27 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:41,880 Word. Father, I pray that you'd open 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,840 up our minds and our hearts to hear what you'd have to say to 29 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,280 us. God, Your Word is it's living 30 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,240 and active that it would penetrate and reveal to us by 31 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,880 Your power in our hearts what we need to see. 32 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,920 And we lay ourselves at your feet and say, have your way. 33 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,120 King Jesus, we pray and all God's people said Amen. 34 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,040 If you have your copy of God's word, and I hope you do, go and 35 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,600 make your way to Ruth chapter 2, Ruth chapter 2. 36 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,160 My original plan when it came to the book of Ruth was to preach 1 37 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,120 chapter, a sermon to preach Ruth in four. 38 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:13,760 And that's obviously not going to happen. 39 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,800 We're moving a little too slow for that, but that's OK. 40 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,720 That God's just laid some things on my heart and just brought 41 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,000 some things to the surface as I've walked through this book 42 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,280 that I just can't move too quick to to don't want to move too 43 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,120 fast through. And so we're going to take it in 44 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,800 some little smaller chunks than I had originally planned. 45 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,560 So we'll be in verses one through 7 of Ruth chapter 2 46 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,240 today. But I think you'll see why we'll 47 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,000 just take a little longer to camp out on it. 48 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,400 The name of this series is when God writes our story. 49 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,280 And again, what we're talking about is when we really give God 50 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,000 control of our lives. When we say God, we want you to 51 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,320 write, we want you to have the pen, we want you to do it. 52 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,040 Only you can do God. We're not in control. 53 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,240 We know you are. You be Lord and master God. 54 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:55,960 You be God. I don't want to be and God don't 55 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,160 let me get in your way. Y'all with me when God writes 56 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,440 the story. All right, so when we pick up in 57 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,960 chapter 2 verse one, here's what it says. 58 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:05,720 Let's just read that first verse together. 59 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:08,360 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband. 60 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,360 'S. A worthy man of the clan of 61 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,800 Elimelech whose name was Boaz. Now if you need a little 62 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,040 ketchup, if you're fresh to this and haven't been with us through 63 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,120 chapter 1, what's going on in the book of Ruth as we're in the 64 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,560 Old Testament with the Israelites and it's the time of 65 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,320 the judges and that's the time before their King's ruling. 66 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:31,360 And what you really need to know is spiritually the days are 67 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:33,640 dark. These are days of disobedience 68 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:37,960 and unfaithfulness on the part of God's people and God's doing 69 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,920 what God's said he would do when he said if God's people are 70 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,280 unfaithful, if y'all are unfaithful to me, then guess 71 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:44,840 what? I'm going to do things that are 72 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,840 going to make, they're going to make life difficult so that you 73 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,160 turn your attention back to me. You're going to realize I'm 74 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,440 going to help you realize you can't do life without me. 75 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,880 You can't live independent of me. 76 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,560 That's not the way this works. So I'm going to do things to get 77 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,440 your attention. And sure enough, some things 78 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,200 have happened. One of those things is famine. 79 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:04,800 There's no food in the grocery store. 80 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,520 There's no food in the fields because there's no rain from the 81 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,760 sky and there's no water in the ground. 82 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,280 And God's people are suffering. One man by the name of Elimelech 83 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,880 decides he's going to move his family to Moab. 84 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,320 That's away from the promised Land. 85 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:20,040 That's outside the revealed will of God. 86 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,720 And while they're outside the revealed will of God, guess what 87 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,320 happens? More decisions outside the 88 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,120 revealed will of God tend to happen when you get. 89 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:27,600 Outside the revealed will of God. 90 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,760 And so 3 bad decisions and about 10 years later we got 3 dead men 91 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,200 and three widows and life's just not real pretty and it and it 92 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,560 and it and it's things have gone gone wrong. 93 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,600 Naomi is a. Widow with two foreign daughters 94 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,040 in law and she decides she's going to make her way back to 95 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,840 the promised land. She's heard there's food. 96 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,440 God's people have cried out to God. 97 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,240 God has answered. She tries to convince two 98 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,600 daughters in law to stay behind. Y'all go back to your home, go 99 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,640 back to your address, go back to your family, go back to your 100 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:03,000 little G gods. One does, one doesn't. 101 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,040 Orpa turns her back and she goes back. 102 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,960 To moem goes back to her little G gods. 103 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:15,120 Ruth does the exact opposite. Ruth makes a vow in that moment. 104 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,560 She's she says to Naomi. Naomi, where you go, I'm going 105 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,480 to go. Where you live, I'm going to 106 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,880 live. Your God's going to be my God. 107 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:24,520 I'm making a God decision here, Ruth. 108 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,920 I'm making a life commitment decision here, Ruth. 109 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,000 And your God's going to be my God and God's people are going 110 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,560 to be my people. And God's land is going to be 111 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,560 where I live. And where you die is where I'm 112 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,640 going to die. And and Ruth commits herself, 113 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,920 she covenants herself, she converts to following God. 114 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,360 She goes from following little G false foreign gods and Moab to 115 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,880 the one big G God. And she's all in. 116 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,720 The question really is, when you come to chapter 2, is God going 117 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,240 to be kind to Ruth? Let me put it like this. 118 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,680 Will God commit himself to her at the same level as Ruth has 119 00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,400 committed himself herself to him? 120 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,640 Will God honor such a decision to follow him and be all in? 121 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:08,560 Will God honor such faith? Will God reward such one that is 122 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,960 chosen to give their heart, mind, life, soul to follow God? 123 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,800 Well, the first thing we need to know after Ruth and Naomi have 124 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:22,080 returned from the promised land is that there is there are male 125 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,520 relatives in the clan of Elimelech. 126 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,240 You say why is that important? Well, this one, before I tell 127 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,520 you why that's important, we learned here in verse one right 128 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,320 out the gate, there are male relatives. 129 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,280 There's one in particular by the name of Boaz, and he is what the 130 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:38,440 Bible calls a worthy man that ought to jump off the page of 131 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,440 the Bible to you. Because if you know it's the 132 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,000 days of the judges and men are doing what's right in their own 133 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,320 eyes, guess what? There's one who's not. 134 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,840 There's at least one this this means I'll tell you more what it 135 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:51,920 means later, but there's one who's doing and seeking what's 136 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,240 right in God's eyes. And this is very practical 137 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,240 because if Ruth number one, this is important to know that 138 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,560 there's this man, there's a relative in Limelux clan. 139 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,800 It's a worthy man because number one, if Ruth is going to 140 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,840 experience peace and prosperity and provision and protection in 141 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:11,400 this world and this ancient culture she's in, she's going to 142 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,560 need a man most likely. I know that's politically not 143 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:15,800 correct these days. That's just the day she's living 144 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,320 in all right. She's going to need a husband. 145 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,080 She's going to need a provider. She's need to protect her. 146 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,480 She's going to need one that can provide her rights, all right? 147 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,520 Otherwise she's going to face some destitution the rest of her 148 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,720 life. So this is, practically 149 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,000 speaking, good news. There's a there's a man, if you 150 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,720 will. And not only is there a man, 151 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,000 he's a worthy man. I mean, come on. 152 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,720 Right. Sometimes maybe some Single 153 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:37,880 Ladies in the audiences, like I'm looking for a worthy 1. 154 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,120 All right. Well, there, there's one out 155 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,840 there for Ruth, all right, There's a, there's a potential 156 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,000 husband on the horizon. Hint, hint, the Bible is saying, 157 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,160 all right. So again, Boaz isn't just any 158 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:51,680 man. He's a worthy man, not just an 159 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,840 eligible bachelor. This guy's like a five star 160 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:57,160 prospect. When it says worthy, it means 161 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,880 he's excellent. He is righteous, he's good, he 162 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,800 is prosperous, he is wise. Again, I want to ask the 163 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,320 question right? We're asking this question. 164 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,240 Will God be kind to Ruth? She's committed. 165 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,840 She's coveted herself to God. Will God commit himself to her 166 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:12,520 as much as she's committed to him? 167 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,040 Will God honor such faith? Will God provide? 168 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,360 Will God be good? Well, sure seems like all the 169 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,360 sudden hint, hint, there's some hope, right? 170 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:25,400 There's a man in the picture and he's a good one. 171 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,640 Now listen to what the Bible says beginning in verse 2. 172 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:33,919 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, Let me go to the field 173 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:36,200 and glean among the ears of grain after. 174 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,679 Him and whose sight I shall find favor, she said to her. 175 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,520 Go, my daughter. So she set out and went and 176 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,800 gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to 177 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,200 come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of 178 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,960 the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from 179 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,680 Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you. 180 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,400 And they answered, The Lord bless you. 181 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,840 And then Boaz said to the young man who was in charge of the 182 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:05,920 reapers, whose young woman is this? 183 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,760 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, 184 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,320 She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from 185 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,440 the country of Moab. She said Please let me glean and 186 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,040 gather among the. Sheaves. 187 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,600 After the Reapers. So she came and she's continued 188 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,040 from early morning until now except for a short rest. 189 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,440 What I first thought that came to my mind when I read this and 190 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,920 was studying this week. When I think about verse 2 191 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,080 through 7, what Ruth did here is Ruth realized life was not going 192 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,960 to happen by sitting at home. Amen. 193 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:42,320 Here she has moved to a foreign country. 194 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,480 She's a foreigner in a foreign land and she's destitute. 195 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:49,800 She's a widow, she's bereaved. Life has been not going right 196 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,280 but going wrong. There's all kind of excuses she 197 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,440 could have made. She could have stayed at home 198 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:55,800 and kind of clammed up and hidden. 199 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:57,560 And yet she realizes life's not going to happen. 200 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,600 More specifically, they're not going to eat if she stays at 201 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,160 home and the food is not in the grocery stores. 202 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:11,080 The food is in the the fields and the right best next decision 203 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:14,000 that somebody's got to make it somebody's got to get up and go 204 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:19,800 to work, Somebody's got to go get a JOB, right? 205 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:21,960 If we're going to eat, if we're going to live, somebody's got to 206 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,520 do something that's not necessarily it's not complex. 207 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,480 It may not be easy, but it's not complex, right? 208 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,640 Often times the gap between where we are and where we need 209 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,920 to be is just the simple right next best decision in front of 210 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:35,760 us that needs to happen instead of sitting. 211 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,560 But deciding to get up and do something about it. 212 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,840 I heard a pastor this week, I was on a podcast listing and he 213 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:44,960 said something that kind of resonated with me, caught me off 214 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,480 guard at first. I was like, I don't know if 215 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,280 that's right. But the more I thought about it, 216 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,480 it really resonated with me, he said. 217 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,480 You know, sometimes we as Christians can be very timid, 218 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:59,120 very passive and very fearful, very reserved, kind of sitting 219 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,680 back waiting for something to happen when it comes. 220 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:05,280 To the will of God in our lives. What he means is, is that often 221 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,120 times we'll seek to know the will of God and pray and pray 222 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,920 and pray and sometimes we we don't just step forward and go 223 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,880 ahead and walk through the doors God has opened and put ourselves 224 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,480 with that right next best decision to be in position for 225 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,640 God to bless. And so he said something 226 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,800 sometimes he said he tells people, listen when you're 227 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:25,480 trying to discern God's will, not every decision is going to 228 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,480 come with this crystal clear vision and 10 step plan where 229 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:32,000 you know the destination. God calls us not to walk by 230 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,680 sight, but by by fate. So he said, I tell people three 231 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:38,360 things. Pray, guess and go. 232 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,640 How I heard that I was like, wow, pray, guessing. 233 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,680 I'm not sure I agree with that. But then I thought about my life 234 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:50,400 a little bit, and I thought about how many decisions have 235 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,920 essentially have been my very best guesses after praying with 236 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,480 all I've got and asking for the Holy Spirit's guidance. 237 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,480 And you know what? God didn't speak to me audibly. 238 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,000 I've never heard the audible voice of God. 239 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,120 God didn't write it with clouds in the sky. 240 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,200 He didn't write it with ink on a paper. 241 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,200 But I prayed and prayed. I asked for peace, and I asked 242 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:09,800 for an open door. And guess what? 243 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,080 A door opened. And guess what? 244 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:17,240 Guess Kyle, take the best guess, but I remember thinking about 245 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:18,960 seminary and I visited different seminars. 246 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,040 Which one should I choose? God, There's lots of good ones. 247 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,840 And I just felt a piece about a certain 1 you could back up 248 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:25,280 right? And think about college and I 249 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:26,600 end up going to the University of Alabama. 250 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,720 And God never said Roll Tide somebody like sure, he didn't. 251 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,120 He said go dogs. He didn't say that either. 252 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,080 But I just met, you know, God opened the door. 253 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,040 I had a piece about it after I'd prayed about it. 254 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,200 I'm not saying I was throwing darts in the dark, OK? 255 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,560 And I'm not saying guess about like who to marry or some big 256 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:44,440 decisions in your life. But I am saying that sometimes, 257 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,200 sometimes we want we're going to put ourselves in the right best 258 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,280 next position by just simply moving forward with the doors 259 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,720 God has opened after we've prayed about it, said God will 260 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,320 move when you seem to open a door, I'm going to go pray, 261 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,120 guess, go. Some decisions, pray or know and 262 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,640 go. Some are pray, guess and go. 263 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,680 Now, in Ruth's case, what's going on here? 264 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Is the fact that she. Knew God's law made very clear 265 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:15,920 provisions for the poor, for the destitute, for the orphan, for 266 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,600 the widow, for the foreigner and the sojourner. 267 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,920 And part of those provisions for the welfare of those people that 268 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,880 were very, very dependent on others for survival was that 269 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:32,000 during harvest time, the fields ready for harvest were not to be 270 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,920 gleaned by the harvesters on the edges. 271 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:39,720 Those were to be left. Furthermore, if they dropped any 272 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,440 stalks of barley or wheat or ears of grain, they were not to 273 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,720 pick them up. Why? 274 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:51,120 So that those that didn't own fields, So that those who didn't 275 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,320 have what it took to buy groceries at the grocery store 276 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:57,320 could show up and work and glean and gather enough food to eat. 277 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,120 This was part of God's plan and the grace of His law to provide 278 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,400 for people. And so she knows this, and yet, 279 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,920 right, even though she knows this, she also knows she's a 280 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:11,800 foreigner, she's a Moabite. Remember when this is and the 281 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,160 time of Israel, the days of the when men are righteous and 282 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,800 treating people with respect and dignity, think again. 283 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,920 They're doing what's right. No doubt she's still thinking, 284 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,360 OK, I know God's law says this, but guess what? 285 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,600 Probably what she's expecting to hear is to show up at the field 286 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,360 and said, hey, Moabite, go home. Hey, you don't. 287 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,440 You don't belong here. You don't, don't, don't step on 288 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,040 this field. She's probably expecting to be 289 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,520 treated unkindly, and so she's taking a risk and says, listen, 290 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,760 I'm going to go and seek which field I might find favor. 291 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,400 In other words, I'm probably not going to find favor everywhere. 292 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,320 There's probably going to be some people not like me when I 293 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,080 try to show up at work. But I'm going to go. 294 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,760 Somebody's got to go. I'm going to do the right next 295 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,720 best thing no matter what happens. 296 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,120 Naomi says go. She goes in the Bible. 297 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,120 Says something that ought to jump off the page to you when 298 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,480 you read it. And she, what's that next word 299 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:11,600 starts with an H Is it on the screen? 300 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,320 Where are we? There it is. 301 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:21,800 You see that word happened literally the Bible in the 302 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,000 Hebrews says by happenstance she happened. 303 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,560 Is the way you could translate or by chance she chanced. 304 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,960 And I just want to ask you upfront question right here is 305 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,200 God is his word literally saying by mere sheer coincidence or 306 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,200 luck or happenstance that Ruth ended up in the field belonging 307 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:45,800 to Boaz? Yes or no y'all don't seem too 308 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:50,160 clear do you think? I'm not going to ask that. 309 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,400 I don't want anyway. Let me put it like this. 310 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,480 I know the Bible literally says here that it's by chance, by 311 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:00,640 coincidence, by accident, if you will, that she shows up in just 312 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,280 the right field where it happens to belong to this worthy man, 313 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,920 which there's not that many of them, and just the right one 314 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,720 where she would find favor. But literally the Bible says 315 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:10,120 that. But that's literally not what 316 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:11,800 the Bible means. You know, we call that when you 317 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,960 literally say something, but you don't literally mean that. 318 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:18,320 That's called irony, and we use that in a literary or rhetorical 319 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,000 way that makes things something funny or make something so 320 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,920 obvious that you would literally say it. 321 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:24,520 But that's literally not what it means. 322 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,280 It means the exact opposite, Right. 323 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,000 So again, from Ruth's perspective, why would it say 324 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:30,680 that? Because from Ruth's perspective, 325 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,040 yeah, she just happened to choose a random field. 326 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,240 She just happened to show up, and this is the first job that 327 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,560 was presented. And it happens to be where she 328 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,240 finds there's a. But from God's perspective, we 329 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:45,160 know who sent the famine. God who's allowed Ruth and Naomi 330 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,440 to return it just the right time for the barley harvest. 331 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,360 God who's allowed Naomi to have the gift of a brother of a 332 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,600 daughter-in-law who wouldn't turn her back on her now, who's 333 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,760 guided by whose hand has guided Ruth to just the right field. 334 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:00,920 Nothing. Just so happened. 335 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,680 Nothing. In fact, I'm getting ahead of 336 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:04,480 myself. I don't know where I am. 337 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:05,880 And let me just go and give you the first point. 338 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,680 When God writes your story, nothing just happens. 339 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,400 Nothing. Now, sometimes I know we 340 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:15,280 struggle to believe that. But there is no such thing. 341 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,119 Hear me, you can disagree with me all you want to. 342 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:18,359 God will correct you when you get to heaven. 343 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,240 There's no such thing as luck, chance, happenstance, or 344 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,480 coincidence in life. The world was spoken into 345 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,840 existence by a sovereign God. Who holds it in his hands, 346 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,200 Ladies and gentlemen, He knows the number of hairs on your head 347 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,000 today versus the number that was on your head yesterday. 348 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,640 He knows when the Sparrow falls. He knows a word before you speak 349 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:42,600 it. God already knows. 350 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,040 He knows the thoughts and intentions of your heart. 351 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,880 Life is not unraveling chaotically outside the hands of 352 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,240 a sovereign God. It is in the hands of Almighty. 353 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:56,040 God, mark it down. Nothing just happens. 354 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,160 In fact, the word luck should not be in the vocabulary of a 355 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,520 Christian because there's no such thing. 356 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,920 And the Bible makes that clear. So here we are. 357 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,600 In reality, God is writing Ruth's story. 358 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:16,120 I've I've heard it said that our lives could be described as like 359 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,040 a split TV screen. You know when you're trying to 360 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,360 watch multiple ball games at one time, when your husband does 361 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,080 this and or maybe you know, if you're into sports. 362 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,160 So one side showing one view, the other side showing the other 363 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,440 view. It could be said that your life 364 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,120 is like this. One view is through your eyes. 365 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,000 It's what you see. It's what you're experiencing in 366 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,880 the moment. Live day by day, moment by 367 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,160 moment. And in this view is so zoomed 368 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,480 in, it's so particular, it's so personal to you, but you can't 369 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,320 really see outside of that. The larger picture from 40,000 370 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,320 foot, you can't see future and you can't always see all that 371 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,200 was in your past. You're right there in the moment 372 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,040 and you can't connect all the dots. 373 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,440 And often times what you experience through your split 374 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,320 screen seems random by chance, happenstance or coincidence 375 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:04,680 because you can't see the whole picture. 376 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:05,920 You can't see the whole timeline. 377 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,440 You can't see the whole. Plan, but there's another view 378 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,360 on the screen. And it's God's view. 379 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:15,120 From his view, you can see the whole thing. 380 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,160 He can see your past. He sees your present, and He 381 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:24,320 also sees your your future. He sees not only what's coming 382 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,760 out of your mouth, He sees what's in your heart. 383 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,840 Through His screen, He can see the plan and purpose He has for 384 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,560 you. Through His screen you can see 385 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,680 how He's orchestrating on connecting all the dots to work 386 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:41,000 all things Romans 828 for your good, for those who love Him and 387 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,400 are called according to His purpose. 388 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,280 From God's point of view, you can see everything. 389 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,120 If we could just get a glint now every now and then. 390 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,320 From our point of view, it's as if we see the hand of God all of 391 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,240 a sudden intervene. Like when something happens 392 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,840 that's so miraculous you can't explain it outside the 393 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,200 miraculous supernatural intervention of God. 394 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,040 You know what we call those in the world? 395 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,520 Miracles. It's it's been said God works in 396 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:06,640 two ways in our world. I think this is in your notes. 397 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,920 The first way is his visible hand. 398 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,520 God works sometimes, not most of the time, but sometimes in 399 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,160 supernatural miraculous ways where it's like, hey, that's, 400 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,280 that's inexplicable outside the miraculous supernatural hand of 401 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:20,400 God. We call those miracles. 402 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,600 God works in our world that way. God also works the second way in 403 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,680 our world, though most often he doesn't work through his visible 404 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,760 hand. He works through his invisible 405 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,040 hand. That's what we call Providence. 406 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,160 That's God's sovereign providential orchestration and 407 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,360 leading of all of human history and all of time and everything 408 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:41,000 according to His plan and according to His purpose, where 409 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,600 everything is in His hand and He is in His hands, are behind the 410 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,880 scenes working all these things for our good, even if we can't 411 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,520 see them. So listen #1 when God writes 412 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,240 your story, nothing just happens. 413 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,640 In fact, happenstance here in the text means, hello, wake up. 414 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,880 Can you see the hand of God at work? 415 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,280 Now moving on to Boaz. Boaz, if you noticed when we 416 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,120 read the text, shows up at the field. 417 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:09,360 Can I just modernize it a little bit? 418 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,600 Boaz shows up at the office. Boaz shows up at the 419 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,280 construction site. Boaz walks into the boardroom. 420 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,800 He then unashamedly greets his employees like this. 421 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:25,120 Did you hear what he said? The Lord be with you. 422 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,400 Is that how your boss talks to you at work Monday morning? 423 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,880 Right out the gate, lights turn on, unlocks the door 424 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:40,240 construction site. The Lord be with you from his 425 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,800 very first words. We're learning what kind of man 426 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,600 Boaz is, what kind of boss he is, what kind of man he is, what 427 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,960 kind of employer he is, supervisor he is. 428 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,680 I, I want to put it a couple ways, Boaz, we, we can notice 429 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,520 what is worthy man mean. Well, we're now seeing Boaz is a 430 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:57,840 godly man. We talk about being godly a lot. 431 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,240 What does that even really mean? Let me try to make it even more 432 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,240 practical. Monday morning for you, you 433 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,040 ready by godly man. Boaz is not just a Sunday 434 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,120 Christian. Boaz is a Monday Christian. 435 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:12,840 There's a big difference. A lot of people want to be 436 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,960 Sunday Christians. A lot of people don't want to be 437 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,040 Monday Christians. This is a guy. 438 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,040 He's a godly man. Boaz isn't a private Christian. 439 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,960 Boaz is a public Christian. Boaz is not a shy about his 440 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,520 faith. Christian Boaz is a bold about 441 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,560 his faith. Christian Boaz is a Christian. 442 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,120 No matter where he goes, no matter whom he's around, no 443 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:33,640 matter what he's doing, y'all follow me. 444 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:38,040 That's what godliness is. When God goes with you, where 445 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,880 you go because you're all about. Him. 446 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,920 And following him, Boaz is not just a God and he's a kind man. 447 00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:47,280 We can know someones heart by their words. 448 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,880 You know where your words come from, The well of your heart. 449 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,040 His words are kind, his words are caring, His words are words 450 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,040 of blessing. His words are words of love for 451 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,520 the people in his life. And so the workplace culture, if 452 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:05,760 I could use that, we talk about our workplace culture. 453 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,240 His workplace culture is being created and impacted by a man, 454 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,880 reinforced by his response to his to his employees, His 455 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,640 response to him and their response back is the Lord bless 456 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:17,920 you. Does that sound like where you 457 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,640 work? The Lord be with you from the 458 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,280 boss and the Lord bless the boss. 459 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,680 Is that how your your coworkers talk about the boss? 460 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,920 Probably not, right? Let me ask you some questions. 461 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,320 Is God publicly honored where you work? 462 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:36,760 Is God's presence and blessing salt? 463 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:41,080 Is his love shown and shared between employers and employees? 464 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,880 Now, a lot of us, when we hear those questions, we've been 465 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,640 like, well, listen, Kyle, I'm not in control of where I work. 466 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,560 All right? I, I, I get that to some degree. 467 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,640 But listen, that's what the 1st of this Some of you are in 468 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,520 control of where you work. You own a business, you have 469 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,160 supervision, authority, and there's nothing that would stop 470 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,760 you from saying something like the Lord be with you and us 471 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,840 today. I'm going to pray God blesses 472 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,160 our work today. I'm going to pray God blesses 473 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,160 you and your family to let the Lord bless and be with you 474 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,520 today. There's nothing that would stop 475 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,440 you from pronouncing a blessing and publicly invoking the name 476 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,520 of God and publicly seeking God's blessing and publicly 477 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,360 seeking God's presence where you work if you chose to be 478 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:22,960 unashamed about it. Some of you own your own 479 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,280 business and no matter what anybody says, you can say what 480 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:29,760 you want to because it's your business, some of you where you 481 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:31,480 work. You got enough authority and got 482 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,880 enough position and supervision. You can pretty much say what you 483 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:38,000 want to. But sometimes do we choose not 484 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,400 to. Sometimes we choose to be a 485 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:46,000 private Christian instead of a public Christian, and maybe a 486 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,600 shy Christian instead of a bold one. 487 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:53,280 And we, we, we, we restrain what God wants to do, what he's doing 488 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,320 in US, what he wants to do through us to impact the people 489 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,600 around us. Boaz is allowing God to use him 490 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,520 to impact the people in his life. 491 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,920 But the deal is the godly condition of this man's heart is 492 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:11,800 creating a godly culture, if you will, in his business. 493 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,240 By the way, this is what the gospel does. 494 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:20,440 The gospel changes a person from the inside out and the gospel 495 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,560 and Jesus Christ is the only one who can do this. 496 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,080 This is why we must be so passionate about sharing Jesus 497 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,840 and his gospel. Because do you realize the only 498 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,160 thing, The only one who can change the human heart, The only 499 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,240 one who can change a person that can change a marriage that can 500 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,760 change a family that can change a home that can change a 501 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,720 neighborhood that can change a community that can change a 502 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,600 business that can change a. City and a state and a nation 503 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,680 and a government and the word. You realize the only one, the 504 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,360 only thing that can change that is Jesus and his gospel. 505 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:53,840 He is the only one that changes the human heart. 506 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:55,920 He's the why do I say that? Because he's the only one that 507 00:25:55,920 --> 00:26:02,040 takes a dead heart and makes it alive, causes us to be born 508 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,840 again where we can say no to our sin by the power of the Holy 509 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,200 Spirit to live out a different kind of life. 510 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,200 No one else, nothing else can do that. 511 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,960 And so a change happens from the inside out when the gospel gets 512 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:18,840 a hold of us again. What? 513 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,880 What is that gospel, right? That that the reality is, is it 514 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,360 separated from God? We are born into this world in 515 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,640 our sin. We are separated from him and 516 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,280 have no hope of heaven. We have no hope of being able to 517 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,200 do anything ultimately to please God in our sin. 518 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,760 We're selfishly motivated. We worship ourselves and we seek 519 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:36,960 our own things. And yet we might find some. 520 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,800 Aspects of philanthropy and some good out there in the world. 521 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,600 We're not as bad as we could be, but we're not as good enough as 522 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,600 we need to be to please God. Our best efforts are like sinful 523 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:51,640 rags. The Bible says that's where. 524 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:56,880 That's where God so loved us. He chased after us by sending 525 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:02,920 His Son to live a sinless life in our place, to die, to pay the 526 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,640 price for our sin, to rise from the dead, defeating the result 527 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,480 of our sin which was death, to give the victory so that all who 528 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,720 would call on His name confessing Him, He would save 529 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,440 and make alive. He would change from the inside 530 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:18,760 out. Has that happened in your life? 531 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,360 Do you know that you're different because of Jesus? 532 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,960 If so, that change that happens on the inside is meant to now 533 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,280 flow through the outside and the people that's in are in your 534 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,520 path that God has put. That's how things change when 535 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,600 God starts with us in our heart. By the way, a little reminder 536 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,080 here, one of the greatest, greatest, greatest mission 537 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,880 fields that we overlook every single day is the place that we 538 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,760 work. The people we call our Co 539 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,760 workers or employees or employers. 540 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,640 These people, most of them may never walk in the doors of the 541 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,480 church, but they walk in the door of their workplace every 542 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,760 day. Where you walk in, where there's 543 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,720 a believer that's been changed by the gospel. 544 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,560 And one of the ways that we testify to the goodness of God 545 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:11,440 is in the way we work, how hard we work, how diligent we work, 546 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,280 how excellently we work, how honest we work, how we show up 547 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,000 on time, how we don't leave early, how we do the things that 548 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,160 God has called us to do, that we're faithful, in fact, the 549 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,680 way. We work preaches what we believe 550 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,440 about God because He's the one who originally gave us the 551 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,040 mandate to work and keep all the way back in Genesis in the the 552 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,840 garden. How we steward what we've been 553 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:35,840 entrusted is a testimony to Him and how we act. 554 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,880 Where we work is our mission field giving us opportunities to 555 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,960 testify to Him. We learn more about the kind of 556 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,880 man Boaz is by the next thing that he says. 557 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,960 Really. By what he doesn't say when he 558 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,120 walks up, Because what he doesn't say, What would you 559 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,480 expect the boss to say when he walks up on the construction 560 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,960 site? When he walks up on the ag field 561 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:56,880 and talks to the harvesters? What would you expect the 562 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,680 business owner to say? When he gets a midday report 563 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:01,920 from his employees, what's the first thing you'd expect him to 564 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,840 ask about? How's work? 565 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,560 How's business? How are profits? 566 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,720 How are we making it? Boaz didn't say any of that. 567 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,200 What does he say? He asked a question. 568 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:21,600 You notice the question he asked. 569 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:28,240 Whose young woman is that? That seems like an odd question 570 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:29,960 to ask, right? Is that how do you what? 571 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:31,360 What does he mean by whose young woman is that? 572 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,960 Well, again, during this day and time, a woman's rights and 573 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,840 identity were tied to who her father was or who her husband. 574 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,720 Was. And so he's never seen this lady 575 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:41,600 before. And he's, he's not asking about 576 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,040 work. Boaz, a godly man, a kind man, a 577 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,040 caring man, shows up and looks out on business and like, oh, I 578 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:49,640 see somebody I've never seen. Boaz notices. 579 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,480 People whose young woman is this? 580 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,400 Who does she belong to? I've never seen her. 581 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:01,120 And so we begin to see again further the kind of man Boaz is. 582 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,800 He notices her. He has an awareness of others 583 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,560 and shows that his foreman gets him up to speed. 584 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,000 Hey, this is the Moabite woman that came back with Naomi. 585 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,000 Everybody's heard about him. Everybody's been talking about 586 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,240 him. Boaz just has a chance to see 587 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:19,280 him or meet Ruth yet. The second thing I want you to 588 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:21,440 see here that we see in both the life of Ruth and. 589 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,680 Boaz is the second truth. When God writes your story. 590 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,560 When God writes your story, you still have a part to play. 591 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:34,440 You still have a part to play. What I don't mean when we talk 592 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,320 about when God writes your story is when we sit back and put life 593 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:45,240 in autopilot, when we just expect maybe to be a puppet in 594 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,440 the hands of God or a robot. That's not what I'm talking 595 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,280 about. Ultimately, God being in 596 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,760 control, he is. But don't make the mistake to 597 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,640 mean that we have no part to play. 598 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,080 God's sovereign Providence means that we are going to actively 599 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,040 entrust our lives to His will and actively seek His will every 600 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:05,720 moment of our lives. Let me make it even more 601 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:10,320 practical, right? God wants to provide for you. 602 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,280 But guess what? That means, just like it meant 603 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:18,600 for Ruth, that Barley's not going to walk its way home. 604 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,080 Somebody's got to get up and go go get it. 605 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,520 God wants to bless you. But your part is to get up and 606 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:28,600 go get it. But sometimes it's showing up 607 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,400 doing the right next best thing. God wants to bless you, but 608 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,040 guess what? God expects of you to give it 609 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,520 all you've got. God wants to use you to impact 610 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,240 the cultural around you, but you've got to be unashamed of 611 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,360 Jesus and willing to open your God wants to use you to impact 612 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,360 the culture around you and the people in your life. 613 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:49,760 But you need to pay attention, notice and care enough to ask. 614 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,280 Questions to get to know the people God is crossing your path 615 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,440 with. To know perhaps what God wants 616 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:01,320 you to do. I don't know why this truth 617 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,000 seemed to stick out to me in this way. 618 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,240 I think I've shared this with you before, a memory I have when 619 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,760 I was a a young kid from a movie that I watched. 620 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,800 And this very truth that we still have a part to play in God 621 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,400 being in total control, but God calling us to do our part. 622 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,720 First start with me when I watched the movie where the red 623 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,000 Fern grows. Anybody seen this movie? 624 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,720 Some of you kind of a movie that my wife won't watch with me is 625 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:34,760 too sad, she says. But I remember as as a kid 626 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,320 watching this movie and never forgetting this one particular 627 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:41,800 scene. If you know the movie, it's 628 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,360 essentially about this young boy named Billy and he desperately 629 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,920 wants to hunting dogs. And he wants them so bad he 630 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,880 can't stand it. But he's just prayed, prayed, 631 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,280 prayed and prayed and prayed for these two Coon dogs that he 632 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,440 desperately wants, But he doesn't have them. 633 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,120 In fact, it's gone on so long that he's convinced. 634 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,480 He tells his grandpa. Grandpa, I'm convinced God 635 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,360 doesn't want me to have two hunting dogs. 636 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,760 So he's telling Grandpa this. And grandpa says, well, Billy, 637 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,680 maybe God wants you to do your part. 638 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,080 And Billy said, well, what? What's that? 639 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:20,200 Grandpa says something like this. 640 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,520 So maybe God wants you to meet him halfway. 641 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,600 You know, I thought about a lot of times how we can be Billy 642 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,880 sometimes maybe because something we desperately desire 643 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,080 or direction, God wants us going. 644 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:35,560 We prayed, prayed and prayed and prayed about it. 645 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,160 But. It It's as if Billy was 646 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:41,440 expecting those two dogs to drop out of the sky or to wander away 647 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,800 from the neighbor and claim a new owner, right? 648 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,040 But that wasn't probably how it was going to happen. 649 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,840 This is going to happen as Billy decided to scrape every penny he 650 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:54,480 could get together and work hard and ask God for jobs and favor 651 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,160 and the ability to work hard and by God's help. 652 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:02,840 Really, that was the part Billy was to play as God wrote that 653 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,120 story for Ruth. God was writing her story. 654 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,920 But what if she just stayed at home that day and didn't walk 655 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:10,840 out to a field with all the risk that it? 656 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:14,960 Involved What if Boaz would have walked up on that field as a 657 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:16,520 godly man? But you know what, he just kind 658 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,040 of leaves this Christianity at church on Sunday and walks up 659 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:20,560 and all he's concerned about his money. 660 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,520 What he what would he have? What would he have missed? 661 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,600 And God wants to write your story, but God's expecting you 662 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,000 to do your part right to show up. 663 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,840 Say God, here I am, send me, God use me. 664 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,000 God, help me see as you see, want as you want, and do as you 665 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,239 do. God guide me, God, as I step 666 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,280 forward. Sometimes it's pray, guess, go. 667 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:42,440 Sometimes it's not. Always pray, no, go. 668 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,600 Ruth had no idea what she's going to encounter when she 669 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,760 walked out on that field as a Moabite widow, she had trusted 670 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:51,120 God. The question was, would God be 671 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,440 kind to her? Would God provide for her? 672 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,120 Sure enough, you see, when God writes your story, nothing just 673 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,240 happens when God writes your story, you still have a part to 674 00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:03,200 play. And if I could just put it in 675 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,160 one sentence, when God writes your story, he writes with his 676 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:11,000 hands and yours. He writes with his hands and 677 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,640 yours. I, I want to share one more 678 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:22,800 thing with you that has impacted me this past week in a way that 679 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:27,320 I, I, I don't, I can't fully put into words, but. 680 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:29,800 It has to. Do with this whole concept of 681 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:34,080 when, when God writes our story and how God longs to do just 682 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,440 that. Not not just for Ruth, but for 683 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,960 you. I did a funeral about a week ago 684 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,680 for a lady in our church. Some of you knew her and perhaps 685 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,920 some of you didn't, but her life has impacted me. 686 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:56,800 And she was, she was the wife of a pastor for quite some time. 687 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:03,800 But without going into any detail, a lot about those years 688 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:11,320 was really hard, extremely hard, and ended in loss, tragic loss. 689 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,160 She found herself a widow after years of trying to walk 690 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:20,960 faithfully with God. She suffered from decisions that 691 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:25,840 she didn't necessarily make. And, you know, here she was 692 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,280 probably entering the fourth quarter of her life, and the 693 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:31,560 natural question for her to have asked was God. 694 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:36,480 Why God? What are you? 695 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:40,720 God, what? What are you? 696 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,120 What are you doing? That's not the question she 697 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:49,120 asked. She's 69 years old, a widow. 698 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:53,720 Things have gone, not all wrong, but some very wrong things. 699 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:58,920 And she was doing an Experiencing God Bible study by 700 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:00,320 Henry Blackaby. Some of you done that. 701 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,520 And she asked God this question. That's a dangerous question to 702 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:06,320 ask. She asked God the question, God, 703 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,840 what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? 704 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:14,200 What do you have left for me? God, God, how can you use me? 705 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,800 And she said God gave her incredible clarity and laid on 706 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:24,040 her something that she didn't expect at 69 years old. 707 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,840 She said she knew deep down in her heart God wanted to use her 708 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,400 as a missionary to Muslims. 69 years old. 709 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,600 People told her that to go would be dangerous. 710 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,240 She knew that. I'm sure in her mind, she 711 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:44,800 thought, God, I think you've called the wrong person wrong 712 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,600 life stage. She passed at 82. 713 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,040 She said yes to God at 69. To this call I want you to 714 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:57,840 listen to the places God took her in the last quarter of her 715 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:02,800 life when she said yes to God after what might have seemed 716 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,240 like a story that would not end well. 717 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:09,720 Listen to these places she got took her Hong Kong, China, 718 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:14,960 Macau, Mexico, Japan for a summer teaching English, Italy, 719 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:19,160 Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Ghana, Costa 720 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:24,440 Rica, China a month in 1999, New England and Nova Scotia, Yemen, 721 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,520 Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Victoria, 722 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,480 Vancouver Island, Canada, Morocco and the Sahara Desert, 723 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:36,040 Niger, West Africa and Mali and Togo teaching English and Bible 724 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:38,160 to Muslims. Nicaragua for seven months 725 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,560 teaching English and a mission school, Israel, Jordan and 726 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,240 Palestine, Lebanon, the Middle East, helping refugees from war 727 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,480 in Iraq and Baka Valley and southern Lebanon, northern 728 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,480 Africa missions, teaching private English lessons to 729 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:54,920 Muslims for eight months, Spain and Gibraltar, Dominican 730 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:56,480 Republic. And she then she says, I think 731 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,680 I'm missing a few. Maybe I'll remember later. 732 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:12,280 So I did her her funeral and she write, she wrote, she wrote 733 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:19,280 this, she says I am still this was just a about a year, a few 734 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:24,600 months before she passed 81 and in contact with a few of my 735 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:26,320 students from each of these countries. 736 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:30,040 What a wonderful blessing God had in store for me later in my 737 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,880 later years of life until I surrendered at age 69. 738 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,520 I had no idea that these years what they would be, what they 739 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:39,360 would be. And it still amazes me. 740 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:44,720 And this is what she said. An awesome God gave me an 741 00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:51,520 amazing life story. An awesome God gave me an 742 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:56,240 amazing life story. An amazing God gave Ruth an 743 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:00,360 amazing life story. Ruth was at a point when she 744 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,800 didn't. She didn't know if she had any 745 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:08,280 good chapters ahead. This lady I speak of wouldn't 746 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,320 have expected to have such chapters ahead. 747 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:17,600 But is God good and is God kind? Do we go through some chapters 748 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,120 we wonder why he wrote them a certain way or why they went a 749 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,080 certain way? Sure, but God doesn't waste 750 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,280 anything. The question is, are we all in? 751 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,360 Have we given everything to him and trusted Him? 752 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:33,920 Are we willing to let Him write? Are we willing to trust He's an 753 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,600 awesome God wanting to write an amazing life story for us? 754 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,080 Do we trust His hand? Do we realize nothing just 755 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:47,560 happens but he's riding through his hands and ours? 756 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:51,960 I don't know as Pastor John and Praise team are going to come 757 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,640 out. I don't know where you are in 758 00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:58,240 your story. Maybe you're at a point where 759 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,240 you know there's never been that moment in your life when you've 760 00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:05,240 been changed, made alive, and are different because of Jesus 761 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,880 Christ. And listen, if that's you, 762 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,640 that's the that's the point where the story starts. 763 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:14,720 I'm going to stand here in the time of invitation and just 764 00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:16,200 invite you to step out from where you are. 765 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:19,600 If God is calling you to say, just come to me, would you trust 766 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:21,040 me? Confess me as Lord? 767 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:23,840 Let me forgive you and heal you and make you alive. 768 00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:27,960 Would you come? Maybe you need to come because 769 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:30,480 you're right now you're just walking through chapters that 770 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,600 you just don't know how this story ends and you've really 771 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,360 lost hope that God has any good chapters to write. 772 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,760 They shouldn't come and trust God and say, God, I don't know 773 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:40,480 where you're leading me, but God, maybe I want to ask that 774 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:41,960 same question. God, what do you want me to do? 775 00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:44,560 God, what do you want me to do? I'm willing to go. 776 00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,840 I'm willing to walk through whatever door it is, no matter 777 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:49,560 age you are, where you are, what you're going through. 778 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:51,440 God, what do you? Want me to do God? 779 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:57,800 I'm going to trust you. Maybe you just want to come and 780 00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:02,080 put yourself at the feet of Jesus to say God, I don't want 781 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:05,240 to be a Sunday Christian. I want to be a Monday 1 and I 782 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:07,920 want you to use me everywhere and every moment of my life. 783 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:12,160 I want to make everyone I'm count God use me and write, 784 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:15,000 write an amazing story through my life for your glory. 785 00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:16,960 I'm going to pray. I'm going to ask you to stand 786 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:20,040 and then you come as God lead. Heavenly Father, I want to pray 787 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:22,680 in these next moments as we respond to you that we do so 788 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,360 unashamedly. We would do so trusting you with 789 00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:27,200 our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. 790 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:30,920 God, I want to just thank you for writing an amazing life 791 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,760 story for this lady we celebrated a week ago. 792 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:37,920 There wasn't all roses that God, she trusted you through the 793 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,840 thick and thin and you showed yourself faithful to her. 794 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,800 I pray you to remind somebody here today that you're faithful 795 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:46,120 and that you're good. I pray that you'd encourage us 796 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:49,160 and I pray that someone to trust Jesus today as the Lord and 797 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:50,800 Savior and their story would truly begin. 798 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:53,720 In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Cherish family. 799 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:55,760 Would you stand with me as we sing and worship? 800 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,400 Would you come and respond as God leads you to this morning?